Real Estate Advisory Services

East Baltimore Development, Inc.

HR&A
serves as the Real Estate Development Advisor to East Baltimore Development,
Inc., a nonprofit development corporation charged with implementing
a major new mixed-use development. Upon completion, the New East Baltimore
Community will contain 1.5 million square feet of Life Sciences space,
and approximately 1,200 units of mixed-income housing. HR&A developed
the suggested program mix, identified public and private financing
sources, secured major institutional commitments, structured a public-private
transaction, and managed a solicitation process for a master developer.
HR&A will continue as development
advisor through negotiation and execution of the final agreements with
the selected developer.

Boulder Urban Renewal Authority

HR&A advised the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority (BURA) on how
to facilitate the redevelopment of the privately-owned Crossroads Mall, the only regional
mall in the city of Boulder, Colorado. The mall, now substantially
vacant, is strategically important to the city because of its size,
visibility, and central location, and because until recently, it was
the largest retail sales tax generator in the city. BURA’s proposed
redevelopment would restore viable retail uses to the site, as well
as provide a number of public benefits, such as new market-rate and
affordable housing at the site, linkages to the city’s open space
network, and restoration of the street grid. To enable redevelopment
to proceed, HR&A advised BURA to consider the use of its condemnation
powers, if necessary, and to further analyze the possibility of providing
tax-increment financing to make the public benefit components of the
plan feasible.

Daniel Island Development Corporation

For the Guggenheim family interest, HR&A took Daniel Island,
a 5,000-acre tract of land in Charleston, S.C., from its state as a
rural hunting preserve through a comprehensive, award-winning planning
process. This included securing all permits, plus management of the
implementation of the first phase of development, including housing,
office and recreational attractions. The property then sold according
to our business plan. The planning process
outlined the vision of an island town, created as part of historic
Charleston, S.C. Eschewing a
traditional gated community, the plan included several interconnected
residential communities, a large light industrial park, a new port
facility, major new parks, and a town center.

The New York Blood Center

For the New York Blood Center, HR&A prepared an analysis of the
real estate implications of the center’s recently adopted strategic
plan. As part of this effort for the nation’s largest
independent blood bank, HR&A developed preliminary needs assessments
for the Blood Center’s core businesses — blood collections,
processing and distribution, and blood-related research. As part of
ongoing work with the Blood Center, HR&A will advise the Blood
Center on several real estate transactions, assist the Blood Center
in developing a regional manufacturing and distribution strategy, recommend
a corporate real estate strategy relating to blood
collection and donor room standards, and assist the Blood Center in
developing long-term real estate plans for its corporate and administrative
headquarters facilities.